Porsche 918 Spyder prototype becomes fastest Porsche ever around Nürburgring

Porsche has another year to tease the 918 Spyder, its 770-hp, $845,000 return to the world of ultimate supercars, and today it put a key figure into the wind: 7 minutes, 14 seconds. That's how long it took a prototype Spyder to lap Germany's Nürburgring -- making it the fastest Porsche ever to loop the track, and among the top five vehicles to ever tackle the course. Being the fastest hybrid as well is just gravy.

Porsche released the time in traditional fashion, via a Facebook post that ended with "Any questions?" Actually, I have several, staring with what's the fractional second time, since that determines whether the 918 Spyder can outrun the Lexus LFA. The photos are nice, but one assumes Porsche has some video to share of the 918 at work. And it'd be interesting to know just how much fuel the 918 consumed at full gait around the North Ring, since Porsche has suggested it will be capable of 78 mpg with its electric-hybrid drive.

The 918 Spyder's time puts the Porsche a few seconds behind the previous generation Dodge Viper ACR, and while the Radical SR8 and Gumpert Apollo are also faster, the Viper is generally considered the fastest road-going production vehicle to have tackled the 'Ring. If Porsche can find another two seconds and change in the 918, that title would come back to Germany -- and I suspect a few Porsche engineers are already working on it.